Childhood and Adolescents Immunization Status

The National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) developed childhood immunization measures as part of the Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set (HEDIS) measures, widely used to assess the reliability of pediatric immunization delivery.  

Childhood immunizations remain among the 3 highest priority preventive services recognized (Ann Fam Med. 2017 Jan;15(1):14-22).  Vaccines protect children and adolescents from serious and potentially life-threatening diseases at a time in their lives when they are most vulnerable to disease.  Immunizations are essential for disease prevention and are a critical aspect of prevention care for children.  Vaccination coverage must be maintained in order to prevent a resurgence of vaccine-preventable diseases.

HEDIS MEASURES: CIS and IMA Immunization Results: MY2021

Numerator Criteria

• CIS: Assesses the percentage of children 2 years of age who had (4) diphtheria, tetanus and acellular pertussis (DTaP); (3) polio (IPV); (1) measles, mumps and rubella (MMR); (3) haemophilus influenza type B (HiB); (3) hepatitis B (HepB), (1) chicken pox (VZV); (4) pneumococcal conjugate (PCV); (1) hepatitis A (HepA); (2 or 3) rotavirus (RV); and (2) influenza (flu) vaccines on or before their second birthday.
• IMA: Assesses adolescents 13 years of age who had (1) dose of meningococcal vaccine, (1) Tdap vaccine and the complete (2 dose or 3 dose) human papillomavirus vaccine series by their 13th birthday.

What can YOU do to ensure your patients get fully vaccinated?  The CDC encourages healthcare providers to consider immunization quality improvement projects that include bringing about measurable increases in HPV vaccination rates, particularly co-administration rates with other adolescent vaccines at the 11-12-year-old visit and reducing disparities in immunization rates, whether associated with race, ethnicity, lack of insurance coverage or any other factor resulting in less-than-optimal rates, along with other improvements.    

Strongly recommend adolescent vaccines to parents of your 11 through 18-year old patients and educate parents about diseases that can be prevented by vaccines.  Parents trust your opinion more than anyone else’s when it comes to immunizations.  Ask about vaccination status during sick visits and sports physicals.  Use patient reminder and recall systems such as automated postcards, phone calls and text messages as these are effective tools for increasing office visits.  Implement standing orders policies so that patients can receive vaccines without a physician examination or individual physician order.  Direct parents who want more information on vaccines and vaccine-preventable diseases to visit the CDC website at cdc.gov/vaccines/teens or to call 800.CDC.INFO.

Current Immunization Schedules: Visit the Provider Section of WHA’s website to access the current Immunization Schedules at mywha.org/PHGS.

Immunization Catch-up Schedule: To help avoid instances of a member receiving the 4th DTaP or 3rd Hep-B after the member’s second birthday, WHA has posted the CDC’s Childhood Immunization catch up schedule. To access the catch-up schedule directly from the CDC, go to:  

Resources:

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2022, February 17). Catch-up immunization schedule. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved September 8, 2022, from https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/schedules/hcp/imz/catchup.html

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2022, February 17). Immunization schedules. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved September 8, 2022, from https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/schedules/index.html

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2022, September 6). FastStats - Immunization. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved September 8, 2022, from https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/immunize.htm